Marie Carcenat Reads Georges Perec’s Un cabinet d’amateur as a Study in How a Painting Gains Value
Marie Carcenat explores Georges Perec’s Un cabinet d’amateur, focusing on the process through which a painting achieves fame. The narrative centers on Hermann Raffke, who was born in 1830 in northern Germany and later became a prominent brewer in Chicago after training as a cooper in Hamburg. He initially acquires a painting as compensation for unpaid rent and by the age of 45, he possesses around twenty artworks. Before his extravagant burial in 1914, he showcases Heinrich Kürz’s Un cabinet d’amateur, which illustrates Raffke’s collection. Carcenat delves into how ownership, expert validation, and exhibitions contribute to the creation of value, emphasizing the connection between recognition and monetary interests. The article references the Seuil “Points” edition from 2001, originally published in 1979.
Key facts
- Marie Carcenat, a specialist in the social psychology of language, writes the first of two installments on Georges Perec’s Un cabinet d’amateur
- The nouvelle traces the life of collector Hermann Raffke, born in 1830 in northern Germany to a family of merchants
- Raffke trained as a cooper at the port of Hamburg before moving to the United States and becoming one of Chicago’s biggest brewers
- His first painting was acquired in exchange for unpaid rent; he owned roughly twenty works when he retired from business at 45
- A year before his death and fantastical burial in 1914, Raffke took part in an exhibition featuring a painting by Heinrich Kürz titled Un cabinet d’amateur
- Carcenat argues Perec shows early, solitary purchases tied to social ambition did not foster recognition, while expert advice became essential as the collection grew
- Exhibitions, public and expert reception, and museum acquisitions are presented as key drivers of a work’s value, alongside financial interests
- The text cited is the Seuil “Points” edition of 2001, first published in 1979
Entities
Artists
- Marie Carcenat
- Georges Perec
- Hermann Raffke
- Heinrich Kürz
Institutions
- Seuil
- Points
- Art Critique
Locations
- Hamburg
- Germany
- Chicago
- United States
- Paris
- France